


Tendrils

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: Evil Space Dads [15]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Male Lactation, Mentions of childbirth, Past Mpreg, eldritch horror Kylo ren (kind of), kylo doesn't know how to function around tiny babies, mildly force sensitive baby, monster kylo, tentacle baby, xeno/alien Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8243749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: Kylo is nervous about he and Hux's newborn child, especially as it inherits his more monstrous traits- force tentacles.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For @space-girlfriends on Tumblr! They posted that they wanted to see eldritch horror Kylo being gentle/awkward around a tiny child and who am I to deny someone a Dad AU when I have plenty of time to write  
> however i don't really get the concept of eldritch horror so we just get monster Kylo (which they said was fine) w/ tentacles and ANOTHER tentacle baby because people like my tentacle baby from Rookie Days

**Tendrils**

It was a not well known fact that the Skywalker family line wasn't human.

Anakin Skywalker, of course, was born of the Force, and the Force he was, entirely. Only through being born of a human woman did he gain a form, one that his ignorance kept him from revealing what he was. Yet after the death of his wife, he changed, gained a true form, only to be contained by the armor his master, who had seen young Skywalker for the creature he was. Without the armor he would also die, as he did not gain immortality, so it was both a blessing and a curse. To be contained but to need containment. 

His son, upon realizing his heritage, slowly but surely gained the powers his father had kept tucked away. To be of the Force. His daughter, also, though in her disbelief, her strong suppression, they did not manifest until she bore her own son, and all her power was inherited by him.

Like Palpatine evoked the Force in Anakin, Snoke evoked the Force in Ben. Ben learned to manifest tendrils of black, clouds of the living Force itself, could show or hide them at will. They could be tangible, or like shadows, all with a thought, a bit of concentration. 

To be of the Force was a dominant trait, though it appeared to be dulled with each passing generation. The first two after Anakin seemed to only be slightly diminished, but by the fourth generation of the Skywalker family line, the child didn't even have a very strong force aura. A midi-chlorian test revealed that while the child had more than the average for a human, it would never truly be able to do anything more than surface emotion sensing and basic telekinesis with his low levels. To be able to summon bits of the Force itself and manipulate it was out of the question.

Until a few black tentacles started protruding from the baby's back a few hours after birth. They didn't get that large, only ending around half a foot from the skin, and just waved aimlessly.

The baby didn't seem to notice at all, contently drinking his mother's milk. Two of the tentacles loosely wrapped around Hux's arm. The ginger glared at Kylo. "Really? You _just_ said Oravon wouldn't get all your Skywalker nonsense."

"He shouldn't have!" Kylo was staring at the chubby tendrils with wide eyes. "He's not strong enough in the force to control those!"

"Well he's holding my arm very gently, so he has more control than you."

"He doesn't know what he's doing. He's eating."

"Excellent observation. He's been doing that for five minutes now, I can't believe it took you this long to notice."

"Maybe he can't control them..." Kylo wanted to test his new theory. He reached for one of the tentacles and pinched it. Oravon jerked and the tentacles all tightened around Hux's arm. The baby started wailing, milk dribbling out of his mouth.

"Ren!"

"Let's see..." If his tentacles got hurt, he would convert them to non-tangibility so that no one could touch them, or simply make them vanish. He waited a few seconds, ignoring how Hux was trying to calm the baby down and get him to eat again, and pinched the same tentacle. Oravon only wailed harder, chubby little face going bright red. "He can't control them."

" _Ren!_ Stop that! You're banned from holding him for six hours." He hadn't even been able to hold the baby yet, Hux saying he'd hold him until after he ate.

"I didn't want to hold him anyways." Instant regret. That wasn't what he'd intended to say at all. Hux's face fell. "Wait-"

"You- you don't want to hold him?" Hux looked on the verge of tears, and Kylo silently cursed his husband's hormones and recent constant overly emotional state. "I thought you loved the baby-"

"I do! I'm just nervous about holding him! I'm worried I'll hurt him."

"You already did... Why would you pinch our newborn son? He's trying to eat..."

"I was seeing if he can control his tentacles. If he could, the second time I pinched them they would have been intangible or disappeared." He smiled, "I love the baby, I promise. Show me how to hold him and I will."

And like that, Hux was back to normal. "You're still banned for six hours."

-

Six hours passed and Kylo, still nervous, was eager to try and hold Oravon. Unfortunately, Hux wasn't having it. Or rather, Oravon wasn't having it. He was eating again. 

"How often does he need to eat?" He'd eaten three hours ago for a few minutes too.

"After the first few days? Around every two hours."

"Even at night?"

"Yes, Ren, I did say every. Babies have small stomachs that need to be refilled often. Didn't you look at any of the HoloNet websites I sent you?"

"I only ever looked stuff up about how to cope with your symptoms." Hux glared at him. "I- I mean to try and help them-"

"Your ban has increased to three more hours, a massage, and an icepack."

"A massage?"

"Ren, I squeezed out a very chubby baby through a relatively small hole. My back feels like hell right now, the painkillers are wearing off."

"And the icepack?"

"He's almost twelve pounds. Bacta works wonders but not miracles, Ren. I'm not walking for a few days."

-

His ban lasted three days. No matter how hard he tried, he kept making some sort of comment that Hux took the wrong way. He almost got to hold Oravon the second day, but accidentally squished one of the tentacles and made the baby cry.

Then he was sitting down on the bed, biting his tongue to keep from saying anything stupid, and Hux was handing over the baby. Hux looked nervous, so that wasn't helping Kylo's anxiety at all. His own tentacles were manifesting with how scared he was that he would screw this up somehow. "Support his head..." Hux adjusted his arms a bit around Oravon to ensure he was properly supported. He sat back, and Kylo was finally holding the baby.

Looking down at Oravon tucked into his arms, eyes closed and tentacles relaxed, Kylo was honestly terrified. He was just _so little_. Hux may have been complaining about how big he was and how sore his lower body was, but he was just so small. He was little, pudgy, and had a few little dots on his face and arms. Even his tentacles looked like they were slightly speckled, as if someone had blown a little bit of white powder onto them to mimic stars. 

"He looks just like you, doesn't he? Though he has my nose and eye shape."

"He does."

"I bet all your knights will be calling him Junior. He'll look just like you do when he's older, except with nicer clothes than your tattered robes."

"So a uniform?"

"Well... hopefully the war will be over soon. So he doesn't have to be an officer. We'll have to enroll him in an Academy if we don't win in a few years. He'll get to wear normal clothes."

"Civvies?"

"Something nice! When we win the war what do you want to do?"

"When we win? Shouldn't you be saying 'if'? If we win the war?"

"That's not funny, Ren."

"I'm being serious-"

Hux's voice raised. "We _will_ win the war!" The baby murmured, and Hux quieted down significantly. "We have to. I won't have Oravon live in exile like I did. He deserves far better than what I had."

"Hux-"

"I'm sorry for yelling. I just-" Hux sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I'm going to get some rest. If he gets hungry, wake me up."

"You're going to let me watch him?"

"Yes? You're his father, of course you're going to watch him. Don't be an idiot."

"Oh."

-

Hux laid down to sleep and Kylo was practically left alone with Oravon. The baby squirmed a bit and opened his eyes, dark brown staring up at him sleepily. He made a little murmuring noise.

Kylo frowned. He had no idea what to do. Oravon was so tiny and helpless, how was he supposed to take care of him properly? One of the baby's tendrils wrapped slightly around his arm and he froze, afraid that he'd somehow hurt him if he moved at all. Oravon spotted one of his tentacles and reached for it, making a cooing sound. Noticing that, he brought it close. Oravon grabbed at it, making more soft noises and hugging it. He was careful that it didn't cover the baby's face, and brought a few more up close.

After a few minutes of touching and looking at the large tendrils, Oravon got bored and started making unhappy noises. He'd been fed twenty minutes ago, so there was no way he was already hungry again. He didn't need changing either. None of his tentacles were being squished, so he wasn't in pain at all. Kylo had no idea what to do. The noises became more frequent, his little face scrunching up and fists balling.

He looked over at Hux, trying to get inspiration, and realized the ginger was watching him, slightly smirking. He startled, jumping a bit. The jostling in turn startled the baby, who started crying. The boy's tendrils started waving around unhappily.

"You're awake?!"

"I'm a light sleeper. You looked so cute together, I didn't want to bother you."

"Uhh-" He was torn between wanting to focus all his attention on his son, but also wanting to ask Hux for advice. "Kriff-"

"Don't swear in front of him."

"Hux-!" He glanced back and forth between his husband and the baby. 

"I'm going to try to sleep again. 'Night, loves." Hux turned his head, closing his eyes.

Kylo tried to quell his feelings of betrayal and panic. "Don't cry...!" He rocked the baby slowly, recalling that as something he'd heard of before. It worked somewhat, but Oravon was still upset. He shot another look at Hux, who really did seem to be sleeping this time.

No help from there.

What else did parents do? He tried to recall what his mother did whenever he had a fit as a young child. He'd lose control of his tendrils, usually after a nightmare, and she'd calm him down. She sang to him.

He didn't know any songs nor did he want to risk having it lorded over him for the rest of his life by Hux, so that was out. Humming, maybe? Alderaanian tunes always soothed him. He didn't know the words, but he knew what it sounded like when his mother sand. He thought about one and figured he could do it.

After humming the first few lines, Oravon calmed down, staring up at him with half closed eyes. The tendrils calmed down and stilled, a few going limp over his arm. He finished the song and repeated it, and then the baby fell asleep.

When he was sure Oravon wouldn't wake up, he sighed in relief. "Oh gods..."

"That was sweet, Ren. You're not very good at humming, though."

"You should be sleeping!" Hux turned onto his side, ignoring that, facing them. He patted the space between them. Kylo put Oravon down, and Hux tugged the sleeping baby close, wrapping an arm around him. Kylo laid down next to him as well, putting an arm over Hux. "Sleep."

"Alright, I will. Oh- when he starts making those noises it means he wants you to hold him by your neck and talk to him. Babies like feeling their parents' heartbeats and voice."

"You could have said that."

"And listen to you fumble for ten minutes?"

"Shh, you'll wake him up." That was true, he would have, but he didn't want to hear it. Oravon shifted a bit and he moved his hand to lightly brush his finger over a tentacle. The baby stilled, relaxed again.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow/talk to me on Tumblr! @Oblioknowlton


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